Is It DMB Time Yet?

I know it's only January, but already getting "cabin fever" of sorts thinking (hoping) for an announcement of a 2012 Dave Matthews Band (DMB) summer tour. Maybe it's that DMB came up on the iTunes, along with the fact that I'm enjoying my beer of choice at DMB shows, Starr Hill's Northern Lights IPA in a DMB firedancer pint glass.

While all DMB members are rumored to be gathered in Seattle for recording sessions, there has been no official news from the DMB camp. Any other anticipation is just my own wishful thinking fueled by past show memories, especially from an amazing three-day festival in Atlantic City last summer.

I'm hoping to add more live-show memories to my already long list. After 30-plus shows you might think I'd be sick of them, but far from it. Here's my DMB show history to date as recorded at the site AntsMarching.org.


FYI... the star ratings are the average ratings as selected by AntsMarching.org members. Let's just say I don't always see eye to eye with many of the so-called "fans" at AntsMarching.org, but I appreciate the site's ability to provide an online community for fans.

I have so many favorite shows, here's a quick run down in no particular order. I'm sure I may forget some, but please remind me if I do.

Front-row center upgrade for 2005 show at Bristow, VA - amazing set kicked off with "Dreamgirl", first "Say Goodbye" in two years, rocking version of "Warehouse", and a surprise guest Robert Randolph, who took "Stand Up", "Louisiana Bayou" and "All Along the Watchtower" to notches beyond oblivion!

December 2002 - Madison Square Garden NYC show with surprise guest James Brown and a version of "Sex Machine" that is long overdue for a release, and first time saw "Halloween" live.

A trip to St. Louis (The Lou) to visit the Lazy Acres crew and see DMB in Busch Stadium. This show was a live release and last time I saw LeRoi Moore (saxophone and flute) play with the band. He died later that year.

The Monkey's first DMB show in 2009 at Bristow, VA - he picked a hell of a show to be his first. The last time LeRoi Moore played with the band was at this venue a year earlier. During a very emotional "Lie In Our Graves" Boyd (violin) stepped up to the front of the stage waiting for his solo. He had never done this before. In what felt like a tribute to LeRoi he played like I had never heard him play before. You could feel the crowd was right there with him. Boyd always got great crowd response during his solos, but nothing like this. It was very special, you had to be there. We also heard my all-time favorite "#41", Monkey's favorite "Grey Street" and an encore of "All Along the Watchtower" that featured an incredible interpolation of Led Zep's "Stairway To Heaven"... wow!

The night before I saw them at Virginia Beach - got a cover of Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill" with Lazy Acres crew and Jimmy Joe Pete.

Speaking of ol' Jimmy Joe... we had an unforgettable night here in the Queen City in 2010 when Branford Marsalis was a surprise guest for three songs - "Lover Lay Down", "What Would You Say" and "Jimi Thing"... and according to AntsMarching.org, it was the rarest show that year by setlist/guest.

Dave and Tim Reynolds in an acoustic performance in 2003 at Boone, NC - Lago and I had 6th row seats and this show was a live release. The show went on for nearly three hours and the list of what they didn't play was a short one. This was one of 18 shows Lago and I saw together, and she was a big reason I became a DMB fan in the first place.

A year after Monkey's memorable first show, we went to see them for two back-to-back nights in Philadelphia (Camden, NJ) and the site of my first-ever DMB show in 2001. First night... "Bartender", "Seven", "Eh Hee" and "Jimi Thing"... next day took a tour of the Ghost Hunters favorite stop Eastern State Penitentiary, followed by a steak and Clos Du Val late lunch at Smith & Wollensky's. On the drive down, "Pig" came on the iPod and I mentioned to Monkey (half kidding) that maybe we can "talk them up" and they might play "Pig" one of the nights. They had yet to play it that tour so I thought chances were slim, but don't you know it... night #2 kicked off with "Pig" and we also got "#41".



Nationals ball park in DC 2010 - Zac Brown Band did a full-on cover of Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in The Name Of" and he also joined DMB on stage for a cover of Willie Nelson's "Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away." I hadn't seen them play this since the first time I saw them in 2001.

All three days/nights in Atlantic City 2011... great family, friends, food and beer... DMB did not repeat a song the entire festival, Ray LaMontagne, G. Love & Special Sauce, DMB covers "Buena", "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and "Good Times, Bad Times", Warren Haynes Band, Warren Haynes guests on "#41", Fitz & The Tantrums, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, DMB "Seek Up", a cover "Sweet Emotion" and "Halloween"... Sunday's show was a live release.

Took a bit of a chance that Dave & Tim Reynolds might show up during a Warren Haynes Band performance after having played their own acoustic set down the street in Charlottesville, VA. They showed up and joined in for two encore songs with the band... a funky cover of "All Along the Watchtower" and a cover of The Band's "The Weight"... the end of a great night, and according to AntsMarching.org my 32nd time seeing Dave Matthews over the course of 10 years.

You can bet I'm looking forward to many more live shows to come.


- Salud!

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